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or person may be fined again and again, and even sent to
prison in default of payment of the penalty. The Commissioners
report, with respect to this state of things, that, in their
opinion, "the imposition of repeated penalties in respect of
the non-vaccination of the same child should no longer be
possible, and should cease to be inflicted altogether." They
state that they arrived at this conclusion "quite independently
of the question whether vaccination should continue to be
compulsorily enforced," and add that, whatever the conclusion
they may have to submit on this part of their inquiry, and
even if it should ultimately appear that they are not able all
to agree in the same conclusion, they have no difficulty in
agreeing upon the recommendation that repeated penalties
should not be inflicted. In other words, exemption from the
operation of compulsory vaccination law (and incidentally the
power to spread disease, deformity, and death among the
community), should.be purchasable at the cost of one pound
sterling—to be paid doubtless by anti-vaccinating societies!
The Select Committee of 1871 had dealt with this question, and
their recommendation, viz., that there should be no repetition
of prosecution after two penalties, or one full penalty, found
expression in a clause passed in the House of Commons but
which the Lords struck out. It does not follow that the
recommendation of the Commission will be carried out, but
the effect of such a recommendation having been made has
already proved mischievous, not merely or chiefly by giving
encouragement to persons already predisposed to disobey the
law, but also by inciting Boards of Guardians to give instructions
to their Vaccination Officers not to prosecute offenders.
Whatever the ultimate decision of Parliament on this question,
it must surely be felt that the recommendation of the Commission
was ill-timed, and, should small-pox become epidemic,
may well prove disastrous. There is only one consolation in
view of this contingency, viz., that people who reject the boon